DESOTO, Texas — In the years immediately after the war in Vietnam, John Lunkwicz II didn't talk much about his time there.
Few people knew he was among the tens of thousands of Texans at the time who were living recipients of the Purple Heart, the medal awarded to U.S. military members injured, or killed, in battle. But Tuesday his widow, with a Purple Heart replica necklace she dons daily, is committed to making sure every Purple Heart recipient gets the honor they deserve.
"He said what would you like," she remembers her husband asking for present ideas on one of her birthdays. "And I said honey I just want your heart. And that, oh she just wants my heart," she said of the fond memory. "So on my birthday he brought me his Purple Heart," she said.
John Lunkwicz II was injured by shrapnel in Vietnam where he served as a Sgt. in the Army.
At the time of his death in 2021, he had become a passionate advocate for veteran-related issues. Lisa Holmes-Lunkwicz continues that work, with the Combat Wounded Service Organization. On Tuesday, with the help of the DFW Mid-Cities Chapter #1513 Military Order of the Purple Heart, she is helping the city of DeSoto officially join that cause.
"Everybody who serves in the military and goes to war are heroes," Holmes-Lunkwicz said.
More than 150 cities and counties across Texas recognize that sacrifice by being declared "Purple Heart Cities" - a recognition that they are committed to veteran-related issues and making veterans welcome.
DeSoto is home to an estimated 2,850 veterans. And at the Tuesday DeSoto City Council meeting, the southern Dallas city joined the ranks of cities across the country receiving that designation. The proclamation is awarded by the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
"All veterans that go through that city, I think, will feel welcome," said veteran and Purple Heart recipient Eric Newton, Senior Vice Commander for Chapter #1513 which serves the DFW & Mid-Cities area and represents more than 520 Purple Heart Recipients. "It's a great sense of patriotism for these cities to recognize veterans."
Newton was only 18 years old when he was wounded by shrapnel, also in Vietnam.
Soon signs will go up around the city of DeSoto marking its inclusion in the Purple Heart friendly designation.
"We don't say thank you enough," said Holmes-Lunkwicz. "They're only here for a short time. And they go back into the community and they dig in and they work. And you would say the hardest worker is always the Purple Heart recipient. So, hire them, get them back to work, get them in the game, give them a mission, and thank them. That's all," she said.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) Department of Texas was chartered on February 22, 1984, and is comprised of 21 Chapters of the MOPH. As of 2024, the order represents approximately 47,000 living recipients of the Purple Heart in the State of Texas.